Managing The Mysticism Of Modern Living

Speaking by phone shortly after hosting a workshop related to his "other life", Matt Wicking of The General Assembly recalls the time when he realised he loved the art of the written and spoken word; "Ten years ago, if you had asked me if I liked poetry, I would have just said no." But after realising his own appreciation for the art of song lyrics, Wicking had a light bulb moment that seemed to scream, "Oh shit, I actually love poetry!"

Unlike the many poets and writers who decide to turn to the power of music, Wicking sings in a powerful baritone with clear confidence and melodic instinct. Far from a Leonard Cohen or David Berman monotone, Wicking's voice carries the listener through the ghostly ambience of his music and stories like a trusted narrator or heroic protagonist. "It took some time to get my confidence as a singer. But now I know that I can stand in front of a room, with or without a guitar, and have the room just listen."

The sole songwriter on every track on Vanishing Point, Wicking reveals that almost every one of these electronica works originally came to life through the organic magic of his acoustic guitar. "That's really just how I tend to write," explains Wicking, "mostly just out necessity, I suppose. That's the main instrument that I play and then I'll take it to the band and work things out from there. I've had these songs for about five or six years, just incubating. I think it was ultimately just a matter of finding the right musicians and the right producer to put things together."

With upcoming plans to release Vanishing Point on more digital stores and streaming services like Spotify and iTunes, it would seem natural for listeners to expect a physical release of the album at some point. But much like how they tread interesting new ground in the realm of electronica, the band also have brave new plans for the future of their music's distribution. Choosing to forgo the production of any kind of physical merchandise, Wicking cites some of his own deeply personal environmental concerns as the primary reason behind this business decision.

"When we released an EP about seven years ago, we packaged the CDs in old books that were destined for the landfill, which turned out to be this beautiful product. The initial idea was to save waste and to use less plastic but it ended up really being a bonus for the creative side of things." Always looking forward, Wicking expresses the excitement behind "taking things one step further", revealing a hesitation for "The General Assembly to become a small manufacturing business, which is usually kind of the path you have to go down if you wanna make money as a band. But for me, it's actually just not an option, full stop."